MINUTES
Union College Alumni Council
April 12, 2008
Meeting to Order
Council President John Vero ’97 called the meeting to order at 9:05 a.m. and he welcomed everyone. He thanked everyone for the commitment to come back to Union College. It is inspiring to come back to campus, since we have such great college leadership and such a great strategic plan for the future.
Moment of Silence for Deceased Members
The Council observed a moment of silence for Henry Swanker ’31, Stanley Becker ’40, William Brooks ’46, August Cerrito ’46, Lyman Potter ’46, Richard Parker ’49, and Bertram Napear ’50.
President’s Remarks
President Vero introduced the other members of the Executive Committee. They are John Sciortino ’82, Charles Roden ’60, Cal Welch ’62, Karen Huggins ’77, Mike Newell ’74, and Jason Oshins ’87. Vero thanked Alumni Director and Campaign Officer Nick Famulare ’92, Rhonda Engvold and the Abbe Hall staff for all they do for the Alumni Council.
Meeting Minutes of the Prior Meeting
The minutes of the October 2007 Council meeting were approved for filing as written.
President Stephen C. Ainlay
President Ainlay said that this is an exciting time to be at Union. As they travel around the country, he and his wife see that alumni of all classes are excited about Union. Admissions are doing well, with applications up considerably over last year, and selectivity in the high 30% range. There was a large increase in the number of students asking for Early Decision. This is good, as we need to be positioned for a few years from now when the number of 18-22 year-olds will be dropping. The annual fund is coming back in good fashion, with participation rates recovering. The endowment performance is remarkable, and we are in the top 20% of colleges year-to-date for percent return (giving us nearly $400 million in endowment).
Union is in a period of some transition. Ann Fleming-Brown did a marvelous job heading the admissions office this year. Matt Malatesta ’91 will assume the position over the summer. His wife is also a Union alum, and he has a degree from the Graduate School here. Tom Gutenberger has accepted a position at the University of Richmond (his alma mater). Witt/Kiefer is the national search firm retained to look for the new Vice President – College Resources. In addition, we have a new Director of Fraternity and Sorority Life. Amanda Tommell has recently come to Union as a health educator who is launching a critical new programs focusing on "harm reduction," substance abuse counseling and prevention of sexual assault.
The strategic plan, which represents 1 ½ years of work, identified our differentiators. Now we are working on the execution of the plan.
We are approaching the 200th anniversary of the Ramee Plan. We will have a national conference at that time. So, we are working on maintenance of all buildings. Note that the Taylor Music Center and the new John Wold Building will be architecturally in line with the Ramee Plan.
Union is helping students find their passion. There is a new position in Career Planning that focuses on strengthening internship opportunities. The integration of engineering and the liberal arts is more important than ever. In May, Union is hosting a national symposium, “Engineering and Liberal Education.” Union is moving to where it belongs as a leadership position in education.
Andy Wisoff ’80 asked how conservative Union’s investment position is. He suggested full disclosure of commissions paid to individuals connected to the Board of Trustees, a breakdown of returns in each type of investment, a return to conservative US growth funds, and investments in locally-owned companies. Ainlay responded that the auditor’s are comfortable with our investment position. We are using about 5.5% of the endowment to subsidize education (the percentage that Washington wants institutions like Harvard to use). We have to wisely use our endowment, but we are working with the city on projects such as the baseball fields in Central Park. Donors gave Union money so that Union could strengthen education.
Admissions Office Report
Ann Fleming Brown, Interim Vice President for Admissions and Financial Aid, presented latest admissions statistics. We experienced a record number (5267) of applicants for admissions (an increase of 8% over the prior year). Thirty-nine of the applicants were accepted. We are focusing on yield activities, including Accepted Candidates days. We are attracting international students with the Davis United World Scholars Program. We have the Junior Jump Start program to help high school students begin the admissions process. We also have a program for students of color. We are doing mailings of a values book and of postcards showing various aspects of Unions (e.g. the Minerva houses). We have Smart Boards in the office.
Campaign Update
Michael O’Hara, Director of Development and Communications first presented an update on Communications. The magazine is being redesigned to have much more color and more alumni-driven stories. The Union video won a national award. We are creating pieces to bring the strategic plan alive. Union has completed a communications audit and will be changing the office and updating some of the pieces. Don Bentrovato ’69 noted that the sports events are getting increasing coverage through the internet site and through Time Warner Cable.
O’Hara also presented an update on the “U Are Union” campaign. Union is $140 million toward the $200 million goal. We are building fundraising goals for the strategic plan. It is expected that Union will update the goal and the end date to $250 million by 2012. It is exciting to highlight the new Wold Building that will be constructed to improve science and engineering education. Robert Mielke ’60 (an Alumni Council Veteran member and life-long advocate of Union) has left approximately $500,000 to the college. Guy Logan ’90 and his wife are establishing a scholarship fund.
Union Fund Report
Mark Webster ’88, Co-Chair of the Union Fund, reported that Union has a goal of 43% Annual Fund alumni participation for the year 2007-08 with a dollar goal of $4.8 million. The dollars donated are up from last year to this year, but participation is down. There will be increased solicitation at the Terrace Council level. We are developing an undergraduate giving program, and increasing outreach to the 25 youngest classes. This year’s youngest alumni class is giving more than its counterpart did last year. Tom Cummings’69 suggested emphasizing electronic funds giving.
Alumni Council Treasurer’s Report
Cal Welch ’60 presented the updated treasurer’s report. We are now on a schedule to approve the Council budget in April. There was a motion to approve the budget, which was seconded and approved unanimously. Stu Cohen ’60, CPA has reviewed the financial statements.
Senior Alumni Trustee Report
Mike Newell ’74 presented the Senior Alumni Trustee report. He highlighted the activities of the finance committee and VP-Finance Diane Blake. The College's total endowment stands at $394 million. The return on the three years ending Dec. 31, 2007 was 13.4 percent, placing Union in the fifth percentile among peer institutions in the Wilshire Endowment Universe. The college carefully guards its Moody’s A1 bond rating. There are four core financial ratios that are important to colleges like Union: Primary Reserve ratio, Net Operating Resources ratio, Return on Net Assets ratio, and the Viability ratio. These figures go to make up the Composite Financial Index. He noted that our endowment performance has improved through the use of managers selected by our newer members of the Board of Trustees.
Report of the Nominating Committee
Robert Pezzano ’72 gave the report of the Nominating Committee. Members included Kelly Powers ’99, Richard Lev ’87, and Richard Crooks ’65.
Mike Bruhn ’91, Tom Fallati ’92, Joan Gould ’76, and Jessica Hayashi ’74 are continuing as Members-at-Large. Neal Schwartz ’77 was nominated as a new Member-at-Large. The officers being presented for nomination are: Secretary – Karen Huggins ’77, Treasurer – Cal Welch ’62, 2nd Vice President – Rick Lev ’87. The Alumni Gold Medal winners will be John Wold ’38 and Bob Howe ’58. The Faculty Meritorious Service Award winner will be Thomas Werner, Florence B. Sherwood Professor of Chemistry. A special appreciation award will be presented to VP-College Resources Thomas Gutenberger. The motion to accept the report of the Nominating Committee was made by Bill Allen ’59, seconded by Charles Roden ’60, and approved unanimously.
Career Center
Bob Soules, the new director of Becker Career Center, spoke about new initiatives in the Career Center. He is helping students develop goal attainment skills for a lifetime, but the students have to want those skills. Employers want smart kids who communicate well with others and who work well with others. Students need a resume and cover letter, which the Career Center will help them to develop. They have to know how to interview and how to network. He is working with faculty to engage them with potential employers. Faculty are starting to see common themes from employers on the type of student they are recruiting. Soule called on alumni to help with internships and job openings and to help with mock interviews. Soule is working on employer relations. While some Career Center personnel are focused on internships, others are focused on full-time job opportunities. There is an e-recruiting database of opportunities from employers looking for Union students.
Greek Life
Tim Dunn, Director of the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life, was introduced. Tim has convened the first-ever Panhellenic Judicial Board to make peer accountability a part of Union's Greek culture. He has held risk management training sessions for all chapter presidents, and met with each to discuss progress, needs and problems. He has established two student committees to develop criteria and procedures for a series of initiatives to recognize the strong contributions from chapters and individuals, standardizing the Greek Life operations. There are successes from the work that he has done, especially in the area of chapters recruiting students with higher GPA’s and voting to increase GPA’s required for rushing. Greeks and Minerva houses are doing co-programming (note that all students are assigned to a Minerva house, and some students elect to become “Greek”). Dunn is working with the Greeks to avoid having the houses and the parties become a problem or create unfavorable publicity. Greeks have to retain national affiliations and keep their insurance up-to-date. About 47% of the sophomores, juniors, and seniors (or 600+ students) are “Greek”.
Administrative -The recipient of the Alumni Graduate Council scholarship is Abigail Runner (Class of 2010). The Academic Affairs Committee will meet with Vice-President of Academic Affairs Therese McCarty. She will address the academic aspects of the strategic plan. The Admissions Committee may begin meeting again. There are 23 members of the Eliphalet Nott Society (entrepreneurs who have made a commitment to give a portion of the proceeds of their companies to Union). There will be an ad hoc committee studying the process of selecting class representatives.
The next Council meeting will be on October 18, 2008 in conjunction with Homecoming.
Adjournment - There was a motion to adjourn the Council at 12:10, pending the singing of the Alma Mater. It was unanimously approved.
Respectfully submitted,
Karen Huggins ‘77 – Secretary